Improvement in boots and shoes



w. MEYER & H. FBEIBURG.

Boots an d Shoes. No.164,860. -.PatentedJun eI22,1875- Ewen- Tom 15W M?THE GRAPHIC C0. PHOTO -L|TH.39 & 41 PARK PLACE, N.Y-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM MEYER AND HENRY FREIBURG, OF QUINCY, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT lN BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 164,860, dated June 22,1875; application filed December 28,1874. D

To all whom it may concern 7 Be it known that we, WILLIAM MEYER andHENRY FREIBURG, of Quincy, Illinois, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Boots and Shoes, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

Our invention relates to certain improvements in boots and shoes havingwooden heels and shanks; and it consists in a shank and heel made of asingle piece of wood, which has a groove around its upper edge to.receive the counter and upper, which are tacked therein,'and an angularrecess upon the upper and front end of the shank, which receives therear end of the insole, and

strengthens the connection between the leather sole and the woodenshank, by preventing too much bend in the line of pegs that unite thesaid leather to the said wood.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention applied. Fig. 2 is atopview of same. Fig. 3 is a bottom view of same. Fig. 4 is a sideelevation of same. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of same.

A in the accompanying drawings represents the heel of the invention,above which is provided the annuiar groove or recess B, which iselongated on each side of the shank O, and intended to receive the loweredges of the counter and central parts of the uppers, which are roundeddown into the groove, and there secured. by pegs or nails driven inparallel to the upper surface of the device, thus completely filling thegroove, leaving no space or recess between the wood and leather. Thefront upper surface of the device is provided with the recess D, toreceive the rear end of the insole, which may be there secured by nailsor pegs driven directly downward. This angular recess D strengthens theconnection between the leather and the wood, and prevents the pegs whichunite the same from becoming loose and working out. In soles madeentirely of wood, the joint is so hinged as to cause them to bend attheir connection but in a leather sole attached to a wooden shank, theleather should bend itself, and its connection with the shank should beas stiff and strong as possible. This angular recess receives theinsole, and strengthens the connection by preventin g the leather fromworking upon the wood as a hinge, and thereby obviates the loosening ofthe pegs which unite the sole to the shank. Below the recess D isprovided a recess, E, on the under side of the front part of the device,which receives the rear end of the under or bottom sole, which may besecured by pegs or nails driven upward.

It is obvious that any kind of peg, whether staple or single, can beused; also, that the heel cannot become loosened, and that the frontportion of the shoe can be either sewed or pegggd; also, that the devicecan be formed to fit either hollow or full feet, :and that both laborand leather are economized in the manufacture of the article, the weightof which is not increased by this improvement.

If desired, the heel maybe shod, as in the present instance, with platesof leather.

\Ve are aware of the fact that it is not new to construct a sole of woodand attach the upper to the same in a groove, and that a wood heel andshank and a leather sole has also been patented; and we thereforedisclaim both these ideas, broadly, and confine our invent-ion to thepeculiar construction of the parts whereby the aforesaid advantages aresecured.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

A wooden heel and shank, made in one piece, and provided with a groove,B, to receive and secure the edges of the upper, and having an angularrecess, D, to receive the insole, for the purpose of stiffening theconnection of the leather with the wood, substantially as described.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing improvement in boots and shoesas above described, we have hereunto set our hands and seals this 18thday of December, 1874.

' WILLIAM MEYER. [L. HENRY FREIBURG. |L. Witnesses:

A. H. HEINE, B. OWENKAMP.

